Ok So Vela has his work permit, great news, Nasri is still on hold but the really great news is the cheating chavs lost! It was so good to watch Cashley’s face at the end, but even better to watch the cheating chav Terry, miss his penalty and instantly hold his shin, as if if was his shins fault, ha, fucking ha! what topped it off was to watch ex gooner Anelka putting the cherry on the cake and see Abramovich put his head in his hands, justice done, job done, well done super Nick.
Good move Cashley! You greedy little shit, you now have the record as the only mobile phone loving twat that has lost two champions league finals, I only wish you had swallowed you tongue after the head butt.
Enough of that Grovers, we still haven’t signed Nasri or Ben Arfa and after watching the most boring game in champions league history, sign them quick, ‘cos Fergie and Grant will be trying hard to if we don’t.
There’s no need to wait, if you want them, sign them, but do it quick!
Not a lot else to talk about but this week, but it should shows which way we go, if we don’t do it soon, the Euros will be on us and then every one will cost a fortune, so all we’ll see is kids, and we have enough of them.
So please, please Arsene, get the fucking cheque book out before it’s too late.
It sickened me to see the Champions league final between 2 teams that play kick and run football, it should have been us, and if you make those signings, it could be.
Have a great day grovers, this could be the day!
New Kit perhaps? Good work Arsenal Youth!
May 22, 2008 at 8:20 am
£150,000 a week, and the knob can’t even score from 12 yards………..laugh, i almost bought a fucking round…………..ha ha ha!
May 22, 2008 at 8:20 am
Fuck me! First up, chamon!
May 22, 2008 at 8:24 am
What a cunt!
I haven’t even seen it… I couldn’t bare the thought!
What was Geoff talking about regarding Anelka?
May 22, 2008 at 8:28 am
surely thats the kit that those kids on the cesc fabregas show won? looks good though.
champions league final was great, watched man u and chelsea play horribly for a half each, looking forward to more of that next year guys, keep it up you guys! highlights for me were: ronaldo missing a penalty; ronaldo crying; and watching anelka display very little skill, then missing a penalty… well done to you both!
just the start of chelsea’s exodus imo. watch the fallout unfold today! =D
May 22, 2008 at 8:29 am
dude - i really love this site - for the simple reason i had precisely the same thought about tongue swallowing - however, i would also apply that desire to that little cheating faggot from cape verde - the rent boy also known as nani.
May 22, 2008 at 8:29 am
come on wenger lets sign up both hatem ben arfa and samir nasri
double swoop and get a dunne, thuram in the defence… il be happy
richard dunne would be a good signing
May 22, 2008 at 8:30 am
Poor old Abramovich… embarrassed by is £150k a week captain!
I look forward to the Exodus… Anelka, Drogba, Lampard…
May 22, 2008 at 8:30 am
Boring game. Well it started out crap but considerign Man U could have been 3 nil up at half time it wasn’t boring by any means.
I was trying to decide who I’d like to see life the cup more and decided that despite blue being my favourite colour (generally my motivation for picking sides in neutral games that don’t concern Arsenal) I’d sooner that half of the big 4 in england still haven’t won the Champions League. But Man U will bang on about this for years and years.
I’m bored of the coverage only a day later so I hope this all blows away soon and we can get back to hearing about important news, like Arsenal’s summer signings!
May 22, 2008 at 8:32 am
oh, another highlight was drogba getting sent off, silly silly boy. my bro and i both thought makalele would be the one to pull a second yellow, but straight red for you sir knight. cya next season… or will we?
May 22, 2008 at 8:35 am
What do you all think of the new kit?
I think it is a step backwards. The current kit we sport is far superior!
The new yellow one will be nice, but the red one is very very dull…
May 22, 2008 at 8:35 am
Now that i’ve recovered from my over indulgence in Cloudy Bay, did anyone see the piece in the Telegraph about transfer values and wages per week of the possible starting lines for last nights laugh fest?
Anyhoo here goes;
Man Ure -
Van Der Sar £3m/£80,000pw
Brown £6m/£55,000pw
Ferdinand £40m/£120,000pw
Vidic £18m/£70,000pw
Evra £12m/£30,000pw
Hargreaves £18m/£80,000pw
Carrick £18m/£80,000pw
Scholes £6m/£90,000pw
Park £6m/£40,000pw
Ronaldo £75m/£125,000pw
Rooney £40m/£115,000pw
Chavski -
Cech £10m/£70,000pw
A Cole (wanker, sorry!) £19m/£100,000pw
Terry (ha ha ha!) £25m/£150,000pw
Carvalho £19m/£80,000pw
Essien £20m/£80,000pw
Ballack £20m/£120,000pw
Makelele £6m/£70,000pw
Lampard (Salad Dodger) £25m/£90,000pw
J Cole £18m/£85,000pw
Malouda £12m/£60,000pw
Drogba £24m/£90,000pw
Now i know the trsansfer values are pure conhecture/opinion, but the salaries are presumably based on proper research. So, Arsene if you’re reading this, this is what you gotta pay to be truly successful, stop trying to do it on the cheap, it’s never gonna happen……….
May 22, 2008 at 8:38 am
thinking more on it, i think the stripes down the sides should maybe be thinner. same width at the shoulders though, but yeah, the current one is really nice ey. away will be nice though, i agree.
May 22, 2008 at 8:40 am
like i said before we know what the problem is with arsenal
everyone knows it….
every summer, we have a fear one of our best players leave
does this happen at chelsea, man utd or even liverpool
we got a crap defence and we waste chances to finish teams off
we got crap like eboue who would not even get into the other 3 teams.
unlike man utd and chelsea we aint lethal enough, we score goals but when it matters we dont.
we conceade stupid goals, we take leads but we dont know if we can hold onto them.
May 22, 2008 at 8:43 am
GunnerShabz - IMHO the reason why Chavski and ManUre don’t go through the same old will he won’t he saga, is coz they’re are paid enough to ward of attention form other clubs, so there’s less chance of their heads being turned by their agents……..Arsene, lose the fucking wage structure and start really competing……..
May 22, 2008 at 8:46 am
dennis…..
i feel ya pain….. money makes the world go round
players want to make their grands….
fair enough nowadays the money in football is a lot.
we have over achieved in the money we spent and players we have, admit it.
but now since chelsea’s rent boy roman has come into football, its gone to another level. at the moment we cant compete, even with our new stadium we still got the same problems
May 22, 2008 at 8:50 am
GunnerShabz - Surely we can compete with those pikie Italian teams like Inter etc, i agree on the Chavski front, but those European teams come and wave a cheque book at the likes of Flamini, Hleb et al and all we hear from Arsenal.Com is that we made him/them a fair offer………….fair when? In the 80’s……FFS!!
May 22, 2008 at 8:51 am
Come on Shabz. It is a new morning, the sun is shining (well , it is here), life is good. Get positive. You could be a Chavs fan, having spent a fortune going to a very wet Moscow. Supporting a team that has spent mega-millions o big-name players and still end up as potless as we are !
We will sign players, maybe not today, maybe no tomorrow, but it will happen.
May 22, 2008 at 8:52 am
so you want mercenaries dennis?
maybe you should cast your eye at the person who’s name you have seemingly taken -
bergkamp could have moved to barcelona in 98 for significantly more money.
he didn’t because he appreciated our club.
i prefer those people in my team rather than cocksuckers like cole, flamini and the kind of idiot that wants a ten year contract with the option to manage the team at the end of it.
May 22, 2008 at 8:52 am
dennis
we are an upcoming team with a good repuation, but then when teams like ac milan, barca and real madrid come in
even if they in the uefa cup we still lose out to them, why because maybe they flash the cash or the fact they got history as a prestige club.
look at bayern munich they fucked up but they went out and bought players, they made their intention.
May 22, 2008 at 8:52 am
And another thing, if the ManUre debt is three/four times higher than ours, where are they getting the money not only to pay £50m for three players last summer, but also pay their squad’s wage bill??
May 22, 2008 at 8:53 am
I personally don’t believe we have over achieved. We have just been clever with our money. If a club has a manager who coaches well and spends his money wisely, you can’t say we have over achieved.
Saying we have over achieved insinuates we have been lucky…
We have great players, we play great football and we are not far off a great team. If you think we have over achieved, you’d have to tell me the players who are playing beyond their ability.
Cesc? Ade? Hleb? Clichy? Sagna?
All those players are great players in their own right… if anything, they under achieved this year.
Over achievers… Bolton a few years ago… Reading last year… not Arsenal!
May 22, 2008 at 8:57 am
Hardee String - You are living in a dream world my friend, the reality of any successful team is that they have to pay good money, and employ mercanaries, because that is what the majority of the ranks of the professional footballers are, forget all this badge kissing cobblers. Of course our club is a bit special, but you cannot rely on that to sign and keep players………..
May 22, 2008 at 9:00 am
You know i’d love my team to be full of players who feel honoured to play for the red and white, but sad as it might seem those days are gone, hence the Nasri situation, do you think if he was offered £80k a week by us he’d still be waiting on other options, now i’m not saying that’s right, or it’s the right attitude, but that’s the market……
May 22, 2008 at 9:02 am
we shud get dunne as defensive cover first.our centre halfs were pathetic.get dunne and thuram
May 22, 2008 at 9:04 am
Morning all.
Fell asleep after the 1st half only to wake up to see fergie lifting the trophy. Apparently the hightlight of the game was seeing Drogbreath sent off.
Yesterday was not unusual regards Nasfi,1st it was”he’s expected in london for a medical” then it was”oh, its from a done deal”.
Heres someone iI think for sure we can sign,he did try out with the school boys but apparently he wasnt good enough. PLUS, he’s an arsenal fan!
lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh0_ywMCOfk
May 22, 2008 at 9:06 am
well said Pedro. I am not an AKB, but what we saw last season was some of the best football ever seen. Don’t take my word for it - read the rave reviews we were getting. This is NOT a team of losers. After the AC game, the whole of Europe was calling theis team ‘the future of football’.
Are we a worse team because we ran out of steam ? Does it mean that AW should change tactics and go the way of the Chavs?
Of course not. We are on the edge of greatness, a couple of strategic additions to the squad and we will get the extra 4 points to make us Champions
Oh….. and we need to learn how to ‘bung’ the ref, just like the others
May 22, 2008 at 9:09 am
T-buzz… I can do all that… easy… haha!
Players are only interested in pound notes these days. The same as most people in business. Would you work at a nice bank with a history for £25k or a new bank for £50k… easy decision right?
I hope people aren’t slipping into the ‘Arsenal are a great club players should come for less’ trap…
Arsenal have no problem fleecing the fans and the fans wouldn’t have a problem being fleeced if they felt the money was going towards competing with wages/transfer fees.
Don’t brag about profits all year then try an pay below market rate for players…
May 22, 2008 at 9:12 am
DennisDaMenace you’re absolutely spot on. The days of loyalty before money are long gone. Especially with overseas players. Dennis (the greatest ever player) Bergkamp is/was a rare person. Life changes, and with the Abromovitch era, it has become more about money than ever before. GunnerShabz, mate we are not an up and coming team. Arsenal is a massive money earner, top 3 I think. I have no idea what those people at Man U are doing, I mean how do they stay a-float…Either way, to keep our financial dominance we have to spend with dominance.
May 22, 2008 at 9:15 am
Well said Pedro, that’s what really grates with me, how the club boasts about £3.1m every home game, 2nd/3rd or whatever richest club in the worls and that we don’t need external investment to compete, we’re doing quite nicely thank you……….then not compete against other clubs who are nowhere as financially secure as us. All this while they’re fleecing their own fan base!!
May 22, 2008 at 9:17 am
The wage structure is just fine.Flamini says he dint go to milan for money but for football reasons…….fuck that cunt…..reality check is that they are playing in the uefa cup while we play in the champions legue.why would anyone trade the champs legue for a uefa cup?????my point is loyalty and not the money is the key.did u see how emotionless anelka was???thats why he lost the pen.he did not have the spirit of the club in him.i would rather have a loyal Ade than a traitor…..Anyone sharing the same sentiments..by the way “nice clearance terry.next time try and put it between the posts”
May 22, 2008 at 9:19 am
Kenyan gooner. Nice point about Anelka.
May 22, 2008 at 9:22 am
I know, I think there comes a point where you have to justify your high prices…
Be it a signing, a trophy… It doesn’t really matter, I just think the fan base are getting a bit bored of being perceived as a poor club.
Its especially annoying when you see investment happening everywhere else…
For me Arsene is missing a trick at the moment.
If you sign an established player who has been at a few clubs, he will be less likely to leave after one good season. When you sign an 18 year… blood him for 4 years, he will be bored and more inclined to leave.
We are the stepping stone for the worlds best kids. That is why Ribery made sense… he’d been at about 10 clubs and now he will probably stay at Bayern for 4-5 years…
May 22, 2008 at 9:24 am
Great point Pedro. When you get the young kids they will want to have as many experiences as possible. You’re right, it’s a given.
May 22, 2008 at 9:25 am
Kenyan Gooner, you are way off the mark with Ade… He will be off within the next 2 years without a doubt.
Regarding Anelka, have you ever seen him show emotion? If he missed his penalty down to having no love for Chavski… why did Terry miss his?
May 22, 2008 at 9:27 am
spot on pedro.I think we need to win a treble to prove that we are among the elite.The man u cunts cant just shut up today.
May 22, 2008 at 9:27 am
Pedro do you remember Anelkas first ever goal when he was just a young lad against Man U? He once played with emotion.
May 22, 2008 at 9:27 am
Watching the Chav/Scum game last night it struck me that neither side looked that impressive.
Their forwards/midfielders couldn’t string a meaningful set of passes together and the centre backs both made plenty of mistakes(anyone see turtle face high kick Makalele but -as usual - get away with it?).
It went along way to prove they were only 4, or 2, points better than us. We shouldn’t feel overawed playing these w**kers in future - give us a level playing field (i.e. no referee bias) and I don’t see the problem beating these chancers.
May 22, 2008 at 9:28 am
Big Raddy, you have just summed up our problem though. We play probably the best football in europe (certainly in the top 2 anyway) & the players want recognition for that in the way of money & trophies, they get neither of those at Arsenal now.
We will always be the nearly men if our top performers each season leave & thats whats happening. Wenger might sign a couple of 21 year olds to replace those that leave but they take 2-3 years to settle have a great season & set off for pastures new.
You can already see next season now. It will consist of 2-3 new players trying to settle, us playing great football in patches but missing out in the big games due to that usual excuse ‘lack of maturity’. Then the summer will come & Cesc, Adebayor will leave & there will be rumours about the likes of Sagna, Clichy & maybe one or two others!!
Arsenal need to make a clear statement of intent, not just for the fans but for big football clubs in general. If we go out & buy a significant name, even if the player doesn’t actually work out it sends a message!!
May 22, 2008 at 9:30 am
I always thought Anelka looked uninterested… Le Sulk!
I just don’t believe you can become an sportsman who earns £80k a week without having passion and drive.
I would love any team I played for… is it the club you love - or winning?
May 22, 2008 at 9:32 am
In regards with players like the Iceman, it’s both, the club and winning. Anelka, you’re right, it’s just about winning.
May 22, 2008 at 9:33 am
Anelka is an example to learn from.He doesnt know where his loyalties lie.It was the champions legue final and the cunt was playing like it was a training session.More is that he hit the pen like its a high school game.I think loyalty breeds motivation.like cesc
May 22, 2008 at 9:34 am
Stonroy - I think you could possibly include Cesc in the DB10 category……..
May 22, 2008 at 9:35 am
I really really really really really really really hope so Dennis. I really do.
May 22, 2008 at 9:36 am
I think clichy and sagna will be here for a long time too.
May 22, 2008 at 9:37 am
Still not sure about Theo though.
May 22, 2008 at 9:37 am
well lads there you have it… money doesn’t guarantee you success…
May 22, 2008 at 9:40 am
Stonroy - my only real worry about the Cesc/DB10 comparison is again back to Arsenal’s ambition, how long will this wonderfully talented player wanna carry the team, it’s obvious he loves the club, but how many more seasons of near misses will he take? If Arsenal win something substantial that answeres that question, if Arsenal sign a couple of true world beaters that may also have the same affect as winning something………
May 22, 2008 at 9:43 am
Stonroy, Iam with you on the Clichy Sagna staying for a longtime. but I think Theo too will, as long as he continue to influence each game,setting up goals,yeah he will.
He’s already a fan favourite and he’s an arsenal fan at heart.
May 22, 2008 at 9:44 am
Morning all, i know we get fed up with losing big players…
big players dont = flamoany, edu, cygan, and others i cant be bothered to type or try and spell
big players = Henry, Viera, Petit, Overmars, C**t Cole, Bobby P & Freddy, (sorry if i missed anyone)
BUT - what are these ‘BIG’ players doing now….
Apart from the left back twat last night -
Titi is struggling to play at Barca
Bobby is doing ‘OK’ at Villareal
Petit & Overmars have retired
Edu - i think he is still injured
PV - plays for an ageing old corrupt money side
I hear some of us refer to our club as a feeder club, but i disagree, yes at the time it hurts to lose one of our big players, but this is where i bring in the old ‘arsene knows’ - what he knows is when to agree to sell someone
PV would had gone the previous season to RM but failed a medical, so glad we got money for him the following season
Titi - his back and bones and divorce caused him all sorts of problems - did he really pass a barca medical???????
Petit and Overmars, well we got money for them and thier time after us was short lived
So i dont think we are all that bad, the rumours are that Nasri is now in France, that means one of two things - the deal is done and just waiting the official announcement, or it is finished, end of…. i know which i think….. Later
My partner hates footie except our fine club!! But she loves footie scraps, red cards, pens, especially when the winker misses them - so she sat last night with a smile….
Drog has now played his last game, Cole is a C**T, and Terry needs some new heels on his stiletoes……………. Oh how i laughed
Happy day i hope fans
May 22, 2008 at 9:44 am
Spot on Dennis. The money it would cost to get Villa, would be worth it. It would come Cesc and the ney sayers down and bring some stabaility to the club. I don’t know if we have what it takes to win the league or the CL next year…
May 22, 2008 at 9:45 am
I loved this:
1. Seeing winging wanker crying.
2. Seeing dogbreath seeing the red.
3. Cashley’s head nearly being chopped off
4. Wanking 150 000 pw steel man? missing a penalty then crying like a wimp
5. Le Sulk missing his penalty, and showing Chavski that he does not give a toss anyway…….hahahahaha
May 22, 2008 at 9:47 am
there is one thing am glad about.Those wankers never really better than us and that they didnt win the game in 90 min.I also think van persie will be here for a long time…Bt i cant bet my house on gallas staying put esp if he looses the captaincy
May 22, 2008 at 9:48 am
to sum up, it will be a quiet day today.
Al the hype of Nasri coming yesterday has gone, and it seems it is agent talk. The fact that this guy signed a new contract a few months ago, so he can be sold at a premium stinks.
May 22, 2008 at 9:48 am
brinso78 - i loved Niks reaction, like, oh dear i missed, never mind…..
he will be gone
May 22, 2008 at 9:49 am
Also if you want to talk about the great players that have left Arsenal recently, dont forget Sol, I am going abroad, Campbell, Lauren, and, fit as a fiddle, Freddie
May 22, 2008 at 9:52 am
Stonroy - Agreed fella, a signing of Villa stature does more than improve the overall quality of the squad, it gives a lift to the players, the supporters, sells merchandise, but it could be the difference between winning games that we would’ve maybe drawn before…………..buy someone like him and it attracts other players, maybe Nasri would signed in a heartbeat if he knew he’d be playing with Villa too, you never know……
May 22, 2008 at 9:53 am
mark c - sorry forgot those two, sol looks good in an average side, bit like when he was at spuds
freddie - well he is slow and f****d
May 22, 2008 at 9:54 am
has anyone noticed that ronaldo always hits his pens low and to the right……
May 22, 2008 at 9:55 am
Choy, why doesn’t money gurantee success?? You can’t be relating it to Chelski failing last night because Man Utd have spent mega money also, so whoever was going to win had spent fortunes.
Real Madrid won la liga, Lyon won ligue 1, Inter Milan won the scudetto, Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga, Man Utd won the premier league & the CL. What does that tell you?? It tells me that the clubs that invest heavily in their squads win the best prizes!!
May 22, 2008 at 9:55 am
Dennis and Pedro you guys have been hitting that nail on the head all morning lads
May 22, 2008 at 9:55 am
don’t think there is need to sign a big name.remember Batista….?
May 22, 2008 at 9:56 am
Spot on GMR
May 22, 2008 at 9:56 am
My hammer is well and truly blunted now………..
May 22, 2008 at 9:57 am
Anelka is all about the money - if he was about the winning he surely wouldn’t have wasted those years at PSG (2nd stint), Man City and Bolton - as he certainly wan’t winning anything at any of those places.
May 22, 2008 at 9:58 am
Money doesn’t gaurentee you success… but it gives you a much better chance! That is why we left Highbury!
Well said GMR… Bayern spent a shed load after finishing 5th… come the end of this season they were 10 points clear and Champions!
May 22, 2008 at 9:59 am
GMR’s point is bang on, but the Chelsea thing also tells you that there are more than 1 club in each country throwing their money around - but only 1 team can win.
May 22, 2008 at 10:01 am
I think it is quite amusing that Arsenal fans go on about mercenaries at Chelsea and ManU… where do people think our young players come from?
Cesc ditched Barca, Theo ditched Southampton, Clichy binned his club…etc etc… factor in Merida, Vela, Bothelo, Bartley!
In fact… Merida hid in the mountains for 5 months to escape Barca!
May 22, 2008 at 10:04 am
KJS, thats also true, but without investment you don’t stand a chance. Yes we finished 4 points behind, but 4 points behind wasn’t good enough to win & the same will happen next season & so on.
However if Arsenal can’t compete with Chelski & Man Utd financially then they should be honest, put the ticket price down to that of a mid table team & start trying to win the CC & F A cup.
May 22, 2008 at 10:04 am
i think quality but unknown players add the element of surprise to the team.for exaple sagna,eduardo, and ‘cesc in 2005′.buying quality players is better than buying names.Good exaple is Ronaldinho.woldnt pay 5Mil for him at the moment
May 22, 2008 at 10:05 am
In all seriousness guys, I think we just need to be a little bit more patient. There was a lot of people appearing to get bent out of shape yesterday just because Nasri wasn’t confirmed yesterday. Just consider a couple of points:
- The transfer window hasn’t opened yet - I know you can still cut deals before then.
- There have been very few major tarnsfers as of yet.
- The other big European leagues only just finished their season last weekend and in Frnace there is still the cup final to go.
- Wenger said he was looking to do his business within a timeframe that actually extends into next week.
- He knows and has stated that signings are required.
- These things change very quickly !!
May 22, 2008 at 10:05 am
It has always been about the money. That and whether you are a family man. DB10 got paid a fortune at Arse. He loved his life in England, and his family wanted to stay her. Plus he played for the most succesful club in the country at that time.
I believe that had TH14 not had domestic problems, he would still be at THOF, AND I do not think that being paid £10M for a season is small potatoes.
No-one knows how much we pay our players. It is pure speculation. Though, I have to agree that we wouldn’t compete with AC (&refused to be blackmailed by Flam), and that cost us.
And….. the club is aware of the lack of parity, thus it is offering improved contracts.
May 22, 2008 at 10:07 am
Morning all. Firstly great to see the Chav’s lose last night. As I live in South West London I would never have heard the end of it if they had won the bloody thing! Poor old Chelsea!!
On the money thing all I would say is that whilst spending big money is no guarantee of success, not spending any big money this summer will be a guarantee of missing out on the big prizes next season and beyond. Even AW, for all his talents, cannot hope to win the major prizes by signing young boys from the outskirts of Europe and Africa. We need to stop kidding ourselves that is was just down to bad luck this season. If we stand still we will be further off the pace next season than we were this season.
The first signing he should make at the moment would be to get Tony Adams back from Portsmouth. AW builds great teams but working with the defence is not his strongest point.
Kenyan Gooner I would have Ronaldinho for £5mil!!!
May 22, 2008 at 10:08 am
GMR I don’t disagree with you 1 bit about the need for investment - we are definitely on the same page there. But I believe it will happen and am prepared to be a little bit patient about it.
May 22, 2008 at 10:08 am
poor old evra only £30,000 a week!! thats looks pretty pathetic next to the others!!!
May 22, 2008 at 10:09 am
Well said KJS.
I’m off out for a bit… so sorry if any comments get jammed… don’t post links if you can avoid it!
Happy blogging.
May 22, 2008 at 10:13 am
ArsenalTom - You can bet you’re bottom dollar though that come the start of next season he’ll be on an improved deal, probably double what he’s currently on, no will he won’t shinnanigans……..
May 22, 2008 at 10:18 am
Fuck it…. enough of my positive spin.
You are right, we need to splash the cash.
The reason we became THE Arsenal (the only club with a THE and you can’t buy that !), was that we were “The Bank of England” club, so called because we were by far the biggest spenders in world football.
That reputation has lasted to the present day. So, if we are to maintain our presence at the ‘top table’, we have to show intent. That can only be done by having a true World reknowned player at the club. With TH gone, we have no-one (true Cesc will become one). We have to sign a truly big name…. my preference is Ronaldinho, but I would take Eto’o or Cannavaro, or Robinho etc.
May 22, 2008 at 10:20 am
We are by far feeder club, we are just more financially aware and concerned for our club than other owners. Success comes at a heavy price for many teams who dont win anything, look at Leeds - one year they are semi-finalists in the Champs League then they are strugglin down in the lower divisions of english football. Do wen want our club to end up like that?? dont think so.. we have to play it safe for a bit untill our stadium is fully funded and we can afford to buy superstars like Villa and not be afraid to fall into further debt if we fail to win anything.
Arsenal FC is the only remaining pure football club around, we buy players who are solely based on footballing abaility and not for namesake. All our players are fully commited to the cause, and whoever isnt and looks at the % of wage increase they can achieve elsewhere can go, loyalty is very rare in many football clubs and we are lucky we still have some of it. U can say Man Utd players are loyal… well that is untrue, players like Brown, Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher are paid enormous amounts of money and that is why the likes of Man U keep their players for longer (tradition and passion for club is a load of crap) .. None of them even supported Man Utd in the 1st place.
All im saying people is we should be proud to be watching such talented players who enjoy playing for the club, and play football for what it is and how it should be playing. Success will come.. and when it does every1 will remember it.. becos we will have done it the Arsenal way.
May 22, 2008 at 10:21 am
big raddy relax!all the sighns are positive.We just tabled a bid for Nasri around 12mil i suppose?In Wengers world that is like 20mil.Indirectly that means we have the money to spend only that if clubs knew how much they would inflate the prices of players
May 22, 2008 at 10:22 am
Agree with those sentiments Big Raddy. The whole place needs a lift this summer and only a big signing can do that.
May 22, 2008 at 10:24 am
Cant find the new kit
May 22, 2008 at 10:25 am
all the blogs say that the offer for nasri has been accepted guys - now it is down to nasri - we only want him to join us for the right reasons so if he says no - then lets go and get a different quality player from arsenes long list, who WANTS to play for us
Come on Gooners
May 22, 2008 at 10:25 am
Big Raddy.. no BIG NAMES.. are u crazy???!!
Rosicky, Hleb, Gallas, Lehmann, Gilberto, RvP, Adebayor, Walcott, Cesc, Clichy.. all our players are big players who are admired all over the world. These comments that we arent a top team no more are rediculous.. we lost the title by 4 points and were knocked out Champs League by the Ref.. and suddenly we dont have big players… To you and the supporters that think like this, u consider our players to not be BIG players because we nurtured them and we didnt pay stupid sums of money for them, does that make them a lesser player than any1 else cos we paid less..???
May 22, 2008 at 10:27 am
its hard to resist the arsenal charm.is’nt it?i dont think he will thinks otherwise
May 22, 2008 at 10:29 am
What financial people struggle to understnad is the effect of intangibles on an entity.
The feel-good factor of a big name signing will not only attract some new fans(youngsters for example, not glory hunters hopefully) but increase shirt sales and merchandising and improve the morale of the suporters. This need sto be addressed after a season of disappointment and just loooking at short term cash flows is going to kill our long term competativeness.
It’s bad enough it’s so difficult for non season ticket holders to see games - so how on earth do we propose we are going to increase our fan base ? Undecided youngsters will take the easy option and go to the Mank/Chav axis of evil as the former have a media miachine doing all their PRf or them (Sky, The Sun, The Daily Mail, most of the tabloids,ITV etc,.) and the latter have a limitless pot of siberian blood money.
The board of AFC have to remember a football is NOT a business, justl like any other.
The crucial difference is supporters can’t change clubs - barring the glory hunters - you don’t just call it brand loyalty. It’s not the same thing.
May 22, 2008 at 10:29 am
Good point Big Raddy; we want/need a well known/respected name to sign up.
Nasri? Come on guys; most of us didn’t have a clue who he was until 2-3 weeks ago and now he’s the best thing since sliced bread. He may well be a very good player (I’ve heard nearly as many negative reports as I’ve heard positive) but he’s hardly a household name that will make people stand up and think fuck me THE ARSENAL mean business.
So pleased those cheating chav cunts won fuck all!!
May 22, 2008 at 10:30 am
spot on Chary
May 22, 2008 at 10:31 am
Nasri is stupid if he signs for Lyons in a swap deal with Ben Arfa. And even more stupid if he doesn’t come to us..
I agree Rico, players should be banging at AW’s door begging to play for us.
The future is Bright… the future is Arsenal
May 22, 2008 at 10:33 am
Well said Chary
May 22, 2008 at 10:33 am
does anyone have updates on rosicky? n does nasri’s comming mean hleb the iceman is going?
May 22, 2008 at 10:35 am
BR - spot-on, we dont want some numpty for the money, we want a player who will love our club, and i bet there a loads of players who would - which possibly explains why africans come to our home - how many then say they want to leave ………..
None - Lauren was transferred, after being crocked and ousted by…….. Eboue!
May 22, 2008 at 10:36 am
Like i said yesterday, if anyone doesn’t want to play for Arsenal, fuck them. I can’t believe we pay that badly (that is just the paps stiring things!). I want players that want to play for Arsenal, not mercenarys !
May 22, 2008 at 10:36 am
well said charybdis
May 22, 2008 at 10:41 am
true bud…
May 22, 2008 at 10:43 am
I think in the modern day player’s who genuniely love the club will be very hard to come by. Blokes like us would but the day’s of fans making it from the terraces (seats) to the first team seem to be long gone. Our player’s now don’t love the club they love Wenger and they play for him. Look at the domestic cups debacle. AW is not interested so nor are the players.
You just have to hope that we can sign a few decent players and pay them enough money so that they don’t feck off within a couple of years and we get to see some silverware along the way.
May 22, 2008 at 10:48 am
Players may not stay for life anymore, but at the same time, whatever Henry was or was not paid and including the fact he left……….. he gave us 8 great years and DOES love the club and did show loyalty for a good chunk of his career……… that to me is enough. I am not asking a 20 year old to come in and sign a 20 year contract with a death sentence written in if he leaves !!!!!
May 22, 2008 at 10:51 am
Henry did love the club and I will never have a bad word said against him. So did Bergkamp and blokes like Adams, ixon,Winterburn etc did as well. I just don’t think any of our current team do. Maybe I am wrong but that’s how I feel about our current batch.
May 22, 2008 at 10:54 am
REGARDING THE NEW KIT………………………EHHHH…………….I’m not really happy . Its the same as the Dreamcast one but only with Dreamcast replaced with The Emirates. Tell you what, for the next 6 hours i’m gonna get busy with my Dreamcast one, rubbing off the letters and replacing them with The Emirates and thats me sored.
Not very good to be honest. However it might rekindle that spirit of 98, so if so, bring it on
May 22, 2008 at 11:00 am
Anyone fancy bringing back the Pizza Shirt for our ‘new’ away kit?/
May 22, 2008 at 11:01 am
fuck Nasris agent, just sign!
May 22, 2008 at 11:02 am
james, as soon as we win somthing the league, fa cup or champs league, we’ll see some real loyalty. once they see that they can succeed at arsenal that’ll breed the loyalty… they’ll wants that feeling again
May 22, 2008 at 11:03 am
KJS, isn’t 4 years patience enough??
For me its not just about the lack of signings, its the other bits the club do like selling players just to get them off the wage bill. Those sort of ideas are that of a small or mid table team not a supposed major european force.
I do admit though this is the first summer that I’ve truly become frustrated & we haven’t even really started yet. The Nasri signing was clearly Wenger’s priority & its gone down the pan again, I bet he doesn’t have a backup plan either just like when we missed out on Baptista. I’ll be shocked if we sign anyone before the Euro’s have ended & even then we’ll wait for all the other clubs to sign the players they want & then we’ll go for the leftovers like always!
May 22, 2008 at 11:04 am
Morning .Any kit is better than cech’s dyna rod kit!!
Robinho is in London it’s on sky news.
May 22, 2008 at 11:06 am
David - any pictures of Robinho at le grove, or is he just in a kebab shop near scumford bridge?
May 22, 2008 at 11:07 am
London Sort - Nasri to fly to london this morning for medical….
Vela arrives
Is this Shite or what
May 22, 2008 at 11:08 am
Didn’t some say a while ago that they had a reliable source saying that the cunts down the road had agreed a swap deal for Robinho and Berbatov?
May 22, 2008 at 11:09 am
it would be absolutely amazing if robinho went to the spuds, surely?
May 22, 2008 at 11:09 am
Don’t say Evo, just that he has been spotted.
May 22, 2008 at 11:09 am
a robinho unveiling today would be fucking magic
May 22, 2008 at 11:10 am
brinso while you are at it do you want my dreamcast, you can shoot zombies!
May 22, 2008 at 11:11 am
i didn’t realise beofre but Nasri hasn’t got a bad goal tally in internationals… he has played 7 games for France and scored 2 goals which isn’t bad at all for a midfielder
May 22, 2008 at 11:11 am
money, loyalty, no trophies, players leaving… none of this changes the heritage of our club. we are still perceived as part of “the big 4″ in england and europe, and lets not forget that this season has been exceptional, with tottenham and portsmouth taking the carling and FA cups, respectively. granted we went out of each weakly to man u and the spuds, but we fielded undermanned sides in both those games as well. we do need to come out in the coming season and prove ourselves as real challengers for silverware again, but thats nothing different from the season just past. we still only finished 4 points off the pace in the EPL, and got to the quarter finals in each of the cups and champions league.
we’ll see how all that plays out in the near future, but now we need to get someone’s signiture on a bit of paper, and i’m sorta hanging out for more news on david villa atm! i’m still positive on that front. yes he is a big name, and arsene has said “a big player is better than a big name”, and yes, he isn’t exactly what we’ve been thinking we need, but again, arsene is fairly closed about everything, so i expect us to pull something big on us in the next month or so. i think villa could slot in nicely next to (future captain) cesc. not his normal position, i know, but arsene converts people to play his way, and it works, alot!
the other player i really want news on is vincent kompany. i think he would fit in superbly beside gallas/song/toure. another massive addition to the team, and i think it isn’t that far from impossible.
other than that, idk what to make of this nasri bs… i think i might agree with whoever stated earlier that it could be agent-spawned crap probing for a bigger, better offer. still wouldn’t mind him at arsenal, but what is the hold-up? l’OM have no more games to play (unlike lyon, and by extention, ben afra, whom i am still positive we’ll sign) and so should be fair-game. also, harking back to that take about “no other offers” for nasri, that may’ve been agent-spawned too, searching for someone to actually put some money on the table!
idk, end of my speil though =D
May 22, 2008 at 11:12 am
surely robinho couldnt even entertain a move to spurs.. going from playing with cassilias, cannavaro and sneijder to dawson, steed malbranque and bloody jenas… no chance!!!!
May 22, 2008 at 11:13 am
Tom if we unveiled Robinho today i would e-mail Arsenal and offer my services as Wengers peronal shoe shiner for a year for free… that’s how happy i would be.
Robinho is a player i have wanted to see at the Arsenal since we was first linked with him 4 years ago.
May 22, 2008 at 11:15 am
goonerjay - nasri’s goal ratio for marseille is even worse - 121 appearances for only 11 goals
May 22, 2008 at 11:16 am
Im not agreeing with a lot of this.
We have the 3rd highest wage bill in the Prem, behind Chelsea and Utd, and above Pool. Our boys are paid fantastically well. And more to the point, at Arsenal, there is the opportunity to earn top, top salaries like TH14 and PV4 and others did (and do). But you have to earn those contracts. You dont get them just for turning up with a fat transfer fee. Thats the way we do business.
Last season was great. Lots of players did really well, came on a helluva lot. Players like Adebayor, who is still nowhere near the finished article, scoring 30 goals for us and leading the line on his own for a large part of the season. Good on yer Ade, keep it up, you will get a pay rise if you keep improving. But TH14 didnt get his £100,000 pw contract until he’d done 6 years with us. 6 astonishing years. So, there’s yer carrot… carry on…
So why should we sign Johnny Bigname Striker for £25m, pay him £100,000 pw for 5 years (another £25m) and write off £50m on one player who might get injured, who might not work out, and who we might lose a load of money on? And what does that mean to the rest of the squad? Players like Theo and Nic, who really need games and minutes, and who probably think they did enough to deserve more minutes next year, but now find Johnny Bigname pushing 30 Goal Ade to the bench and them right off it.
And we become mini-Chelsea, or mini-Utd, some giant repulsive juggernaut with staggering debts and players demanding parity with the other top earners, and suddenly we’re out of control. No thanks. Not here. Carry on the way we are please. Whatever we win, we earnt it… whatever Utd or Chelsea win, they bought it…
May 22, 2008 at 11:16 am
So Cashley Cole, how was it lifting the Champions League Trophy? it must have been a nice feeling huh???
May 22, 2008 at 11:16 am
http://translate.google.com/translate?sourceid=navclient&hl=en&u=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2emarca%2ecom%2fedicion%2fmarca%2ffutbol%2f1a%5fdivision%2freal%5fmadrid%2fes%2fdesarrollo%2f1125826%2ehtml
May 22, 2008 at 11:16 am
robinho would be nice too… haha, gdi! excitement… any of you guys wanna go find him out, pose as a taxi-driver and get “lost”, conveinently arriving at arsenal stadium to meet a massive press conference and arsene himself? =D
May 22, 2008 at 11:16 am
Given that the league finished nearly two weeks ago; I think its strange that we haven’t signed any players from the EPL - don’t see why there should be any delays so think it’s unlikely that we’ll be signing anyone English or with EPL experience.
May 22, 2008 at 11:16 am
yeah me 2 jay, he’s class and we nearly got him before he went to madrid his pace would be awesome with cesc/rosicky threading those balls through.
James Bartram (great name by the way)
the villa thing has gone so quiet i wouldnt be surprised if we signed him!!! and no one else seems to be linked with him which is even more surprising!
May 22, 2008 at 11:18 am
Chris
I can understand that you want to donate your dreamcast kit to me, fine. Whats up with shooting Zombies? i dont get it
May 22, 2008 at 11:19 am
house of the dead, it was the only decent game on the blasted device
May 22, 2008 at 11:21 am
David - Even our Yellow ‘It’s Thomas, It’s Up For Grabs Now’ Kit???? Personally, i loved it, coz it was sooooo different from everyone elses kits at the time……….played havoc on your eyes after a night out though!!
May 22, 2008 at 11:21 am
GMR - I was referring to patience with regards to transfers for this summer.
Yes 4 years is enough, there are a degree of mitigating circumstances around that timeframe. But the club has now been quite vocal in 1 form or another about making investment this summer and on that basis I am prepared to be just that little bit more patient - that is just my opinion - I don’t expect it to be shared by everyone.
This bit isn’t linked to your previous comments in anyway GMR, but I just think the dramatic responses that we saw yesterday where people were getting bent out of shape simply because Nasri didn’t sign YESTERDAY - were just way OTT !! Primarily for some of the reasons I raised above.
May 22, 2008 at 11:23 am
Scuba - to be fair though there haven’t been any dealings yet between Premiership clubs at all
May 22, 2008 at 11:24 am
Robinho has said he doesnt want to go to shite hart lane, lets keep everything crossed and hope it is a swap and cash for hleb…
May 22, 2008 at 11:27 am
wow… funky little translation by google, kinda surprising though. i thought that robinho was a pretty regular starter for real these days, not just a bench-warmer. who said it’d be a slow news day… it could get massive!!!
as to david villa, mr Arsenal Tom (Bartram), who also has an awesome name, i guess we’ll just have to hold out and see.
there are alot of players who could benefit arsenal football club alot, and these are just two of them… i look forward to more on both fronts (unless robinho does sign with the chavs, spuds or man u, in which case gdi!!!) =D
May 22, 2008 at 11:29 am
some of the comments say they should demand toure cesc hleb and ……………………..
EBOUE!
best of luck with that one
May 22, 2008 at 11:29 am
gidster
Players like Theo and Nic, who really need games and minutes, and who probably think they did enough to deserve more minutes next year, but now find Johnny Bigname pushing 30 Goal Ade to the bench and them right off it.
with that attitude sounds like your happy with developing talent again !
doesnt this ON HOLD SHITE mean anything too you ?
nasri is on hold pending bigger clubs being interested in him !
BIGGER clubs .. Not so long ago we were a big club .. now we are 2nd rate and with your attitude of lets have another year of football manager , is not helping ..
I thought last month we all agreed we need EXPERIENCE !
now everyone here is slipping back into the mentality of play them until they come good !!
We have LOST flamini - Hleb .. we CANNOT replace them with sunday league potential !
Do that and we will be GROUND HOG DAYING IT .. AGAIN !!!
May 22, 2008 at 11:29 am
john terry was bawling his eyes out after the game, couldnt have happened to a better bloke!
May 22, 2008 at 11:29 am
Gidster - Do you think that our wage bill is so high because we’ve overpaid our teenagers to attract them to The Arsenal? Coz as an absolute guess if you’ve got 25 teenagers on £10k a week that soon adds up, that’s a lot of money being diverted away from the first team…….
May 22, 2008 at 11:31 am
to be fair, if we sign almost anyone thats been mentioned on this blog then 90% will be very happy!!
and who said there was no big news!!!???…….
mark schwarzer has signed for fulham!!!!
May 22, 2008 at 11:32 am
so far there has only been 3 signings in the EPL
1. Boswinga for Chavs
2. Modric for spuds
3. Degen for pool
May 22, 2008 at 11:33 am
Well that link from Chris has just brightened up my morning… Robinho’s agent talking about Robinho coming to London if he doesn’t get playing time… which he lost at the end of the season again… please please please be something in it… if we signed Robinho it would be like the day we signed Bergkamp all over again
May 22, 2008 at 11:33 am
4. Schwarzer for fulham.
why the fuck would you do that?
May 22, 2008 at 11:34 am
we will have to mute our hopes it could be anyone at this stage,
May 22, 2008 at 11:35 am
also, gidster, i kinda agree with your little analysis of our wage structure. the only problem with it is that your examples are a year old or more. players like freddie and TH14 would’ve been earning alot a year ago, and gallas is on 100,000 p/w or something i think i read a couple of days ago… idk other stats but i highly doubt that we have as many players earning over 50k as the chavs do, and almost certainly not more than 2 over 100k, if that! i’d probably put us at 5th amongst other clubs as to how much we pay the players. i doubt liverpool are below us, and i wouldn’t be surprised if everton, or city, or villa, or even blackburn spent more than us on wages too. again though, not certain, but just a haunch.
May 22, 2008 at 11:35 am
Say a lot for Middlesboro and Gareth Southgate………….especially as they had offered him a new contract…..
May 22, 2008 at 11:36 am
evo… all about money mate! sky reported he turned down a new borough deal to join fulham and lets be honest he hasnt gone there for ‘footballing reasons’
May 22, 2008 at 11:37 am
yeah fair enough…they must be offering a shit load of coin to go there…
May 22, 2008 at 11:37 am
Arsenal Tom - Maybe it’s a Northern Monkey thing??
May 22, 2008 at 11:38 am
I don’t understand this attitude that if we make a big signing we are going to turn into a two headed monster or something. What are we, pure as a sixtenn year old virgin and we must not be tainted? FFS. So what if Man Utd and Chelsea signed big? That’s how football works!
It’s the way of the football world, players move around for big fees and either you are in the game or you are not. Why should we be some kind of moral exception? We’ve always signed players in the past.
May 22, 2008 at 11:41 am
what do u mean dennis? he was tryna get away?? to be fair middlesborough wouldnt be high on my list of places to live either!!!
May 22, 2008 at 11:41 am
Gidster, sorry but that comment was straight from another website 2-4 weeks ago. If you sign a player for 25 million & pay him 25 million in wages over 5 years how exactly does that equal losing 50 million??
If he gets injured the club are insured against that so financially they don’t suffer. If it doesn’t work out they don’t keep him for 5 years so the wages wouldn’t equal 25 million & they would also get money back on the transfer out so again they wouldn’t be losing anything like 50 million. As its a big name player it attracts more attention & therefore the club gets a bigger following, sell more shirts etc etc etc, this has happened time & again at different clubs & even happened at Arsenal when Bergkamp signed (of course though you wouldn’t have wanted him because he was just a big name who would bankrupt the club & add nothing).
Besides all of that there is also the what IF it actually works out & the player does settle, then potentially he could help win you leagues & maybe the CL are earn you 100’s of millions in prize money & TV revenue.
Wenger has his way of doing things & Mourinho & Ferguson have theirs (who was the most successful?), you agree with Wenger’s way (thats your choice) but don’t be fooled that Arsenal achieve & the others just buy because it doesn’t add up. Arsenal spend a lot of money on wages for average players & kids that we’ll never see in the first team which is why man utd’s wage bill is only 2 million more than ours. I’m sick of hearing how we develop talent, no we don’t, we rob other clubs of youngsters they have developed & then claim it was great coaching. There is not one player in our first team thats come from our academy.
May 22, 2008 at 11:45 am
Arsenal Tom - Yeh, just trying to bad mouth anything Northern……….but in all seriousness, he probably was swayed by Middlesborough v London and more importantly £30k pw v £50k pw……………call me an old synic, but London wins everytime………..
May 22, 2008 at 11:46 am
oO, great news for schwarzer! i thought he’d be in italy this coming season… i guess he’ll get alot of shot-stopping practice for when the aussies play, while he’s at fulham though, he he =P
May 22, 2008 at 11:46 am
AGREED dennis
May 22, 2008 at 11:47 am
well………………….its now on official site. YYYYYessss!!!!
May 22, 2008 at 11:48 am
Gidster - I too am unhappy with the amount of money we’re throwing at average teenagers who never make an impact on the first team……………what’s the answer though?
May 22, 2008 at 11:51 am
Evo - Fulham could’ve been offering me the same wonga as Middlesboro and i would’ve bitten their hand off for the chance to live and work in London……..
May 22, 2008 at 11:52 am
I dotn think we have the 3rd highest wage bill.
Have you got the figures to back it up?
I am sure Liverpool, Newcastle and Spurs would be above us.
May 22, 2008 at 11:56 am
On what do you base your guess, Mark ?
As to paying the kids too much money. We sold Muamba, Larsen, Sidwell, Stokes etc etc. and they pay for the running of the youth set up.
May 22, 2008 at 12:02 pm
yeah london beats middlesborough every time.
cant wait to see those magic words on the arsenal site… “so and so signs for arsenal on a long term contract for an undisclosed fee”
im dying for some news… ive never seen newsnow soo dull!
May 22, 2008 at 12:04 pm
http://www.footballeconomy.com/reports.htm
bit old but
May 22, 2008 at 12:05 pm
According to this link from the Evening Standard, Nasri is flying in today for a medical.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-23486575-details/article.do?ito=newsnow&
However, why would he be flying in for a medical if his agent and the player himself are considering other options??
May 22, 2008 at 12:11 pm
his agent sounds like a cunt to me!! suprise suprise!!
if he gets a better offer then good luck to him, we dotn need another hleb on our hands!
im sticking with my policy of ignoring want agents say… i cant think of one agent whos done anything to help arsenal in the last few years
May 22, 2008 at 12:11 pm
couple of links here, one regarding CRonaldo, the other regarding Ade…
CRonaldo link - http://sports.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/05/222/Premier-League-Ronaldo-on-future/?facets/great-britain-locale/sport-space/football/
Ade - http://sports.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/05/222/Serie-A-Ancelotti-reveals-striker-targets/?facets/great-britain-locale/sport-space/football/
May 22, 2008 at 12:16 pm
probably sensible Tom but i refuse to ignore Robinhos agent saying he will bring Robinho to the Emirates if he doesn’t get regular football… i refuse… that is the sort of shit that keeps me sane in summer being an arsenal fan.
May 22, 2008 at 12:17 pm
agents are all cunts, and there successes fuel there welfare unfortunately… if